The Broken Girl
by AspieGirl17
Summary: While out checking the traps one day, Aasim and Mitch stumble upon Carly Jo, a pregnant teenager haunted by a dark past. Despite her trust issues, she decides to join the group for the sake of her unborn baby. However, CJ has a lot of emotional baggage, and Clementine and her friends don't know if they will ever get the traumatized young mother-to-be to trust people again.
1. Chapter 1

**AN** :

 **Hello,folks! I am a new author on the site, and as such I will operate under the pseudonym "Aspie". Feel free to give me pointers and offer advice, but please, be nice about it. This story will be featuring an OC based on myself. Anyway, I have been blabbering for too long, on with the show!**

"Well, that's the last one," Aasim said as he removed the rabbit carcass from the snare and reset the trap.

Mitch stood just behind him, three more dead rabbits slung over his shoulder.

"Think this will be enough to feed everyone?"

Aasim turned around to face the other boy and shrugged.

"I don't know, man. I would like to hope so, but I've still gotta live with the possibility that someone might go hungry tonight."

Mitch remained silent, unable to come up with a response.

Aasim let out a sigh. "We'd better start heading back. It's getting late, and Vi-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone stepping on a twig, followed by a soft gasp of fear.

Aasim began to take slow, cautionary steps towards a nearby bush where the sounds seemed to be coming from.

"Who's there?" he called out.

Another, slightly louder, gasp was heard, along with the rustling of leaves.

"Please don't hurt me!" cried a female voice from within the foliage.

Aasim was taken aback; he wasn't expecting to hear a response to his question. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

The voice spoke again, more fearful and slightly aggressive this time. "What reason do I have to trust you?"

"Should we really be wasting our time with this?" Mitch grumbled. "Let's just go already."

Aasim turned and gave him a dirty look.

"Mitch, just shut up! She's clearly scared. We can't just leave her here!"

Mitch opened his mouth to say something, but Aasim held up his hand.

"Just shut up and let me handle this!"

Mitch acquiesced and just looked away, muttering angrily to himself.

Aasim returned his attention to the bush and the frightened stranger hiding within it.

"You're right, we haven't given you one good reason to trust us, but I promise you we're not going to hurt you. Can you please tell me your name?"

There was a long silence before whoever it was let out an agitated sigh and said, "This goes against my better judgement, but fine. My name is Carly Jo, people sometimes call me CJ."

"Nice to meet you, CJ," Aasim said, although the niceties weren't really necessary, given the circumstances. "My name is Aasim. The other guy you heard me talking to is Mitch. Are you bit?"

"No, thank God," came Carly Jo's immediate reply.

"Okay, good. Are you alone?" he asked.

"Yes, I am on my own out here," she said. "But…in a way, I'm not completely alone."

Aasim was puzzled.

What she just said made no sense; 'not completely alone', what the hell was that supposed to mean?

"What are you talking about?"

Carly Jo sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'm coming out."

Aasim backed away from the bush, and watched as a teenage girl emerged from it, followed by a small dog.

The girl looked to be seventeen years old, had long, curly, strawberry blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and piercing blue eyes. There was a look of pure fear in those eyes as they darted around in all directions, searching for the best possible escape route.

She wore a white shirt with a pink flower pattern, an oversized pink hoodie, jeans, and blue running shoes.

Immediately upon seeing the two boys, the dog, a tan colored chihuahua-spaniel mix with floppy ears and a curly tail, stood between the pair and her owner and began to bark and growl ferociously.

It wasn't until his eyes fell on her midsection that Aasim understood what she'd meant about not being completely alone, besides the dog, that is: Carly Jo was very pregnant.

After some time, Carly Jo squated down, picked up her dog, and wrapped her hand gently around the dog's muzzle to quiet her before standing up again.

"Lady, shhhh," she hissed.

Aasim was in shock. He was not expecting her to be with child, but that gave him all the more reason to try to convince Carly Jo to come with them back to the boarding school.

He couldn't leave her out here in the wilderness, pregnant; it was too dangerous.

"Hey, listen, Carly Jo," Aasim began, "Mitch and I live at a school not to far from here with a bunch of other kids. Given your…situation, I was thinking of asking you to join us."

"Hell, no!" shouted Mitch. "She could be a member of the Delta! Besides, remember what happened the last time we let strangers in?"

Aasim pinched the bridge of his nose and released a frustrated grunt. "Yes, Mitch, I remember. I was there. Everyone else has gotten over it and forgiven Clem and AJ, you should do the same. Secondly, the Delta isn't coming back, we made sure of that by taking out Lilly. I mean, look at her, Mitch!"

Mitch gave Carly Jo a look of deep distrust.

"She's pregnant! As I said before, we can't just leave her here. It's not safe for her or the baby!"

Carly Jo held her dog closer and started to slowly inch away, whimpering. "If it's gonna be a problem, then I'll just stay in the woods, and y'all can pretend you never saw me," she said, fighting the urge to cry.

"No, CJ, we're not leaving you behind," said Aasim determinedly. "I refuse. And you know what? I don't care what you say, Mitch. Carly Jo is coming with us and that's final!"

"Okay, fine," Mitch said, realizing that this was a battle he wasn't going to win. "But this doesn't mean I'm cool with it."

He turned, and started walking in the direction of the school.

Aasim sighed and shook his head before turning back to Carly Jo, who was on the verge of tears. He stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her, but she shrugged it off.

"So you're not the touchy feely type, got it," he said.

Carly Jo took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Yeah, sorry for almost falling to pieces there," she said, removing her hand from Lady's muzzle. "I don't like confrontation, and when people get angry, I-"

She stopped, realizing that she was about to say too much.

Did she really want to discuss her past with some guy she'd just met?

No way.

She didn't trust him yet, and besides, Carly Jo didn't feel like opening up old wounds.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Aasim said. "And don't mind Mitch, he's just an asshole. Once the other kids meet you, I'm sure they'll understand the situation and let you stay. So, what do you say, will you join our group?"

Carly Jo thought for a moment.

Did she have any reason to trust these people?

None whatsoever.

Did she want the best life possible for her baby?

Absolutely.

Regardless of how she felt about these new folks, it was time to step out of her comfort zone and start putting her child first. She nodded.

"Yes. I don't know you guys, and I don't trust people in general, but I want what's best for my baby."

She looked down at her little dog. "Lady, are you gonna be nice?"

Since Mitch took off, the dog had stopped making noise and was now resting quietly in her owner's arms. CJ took the silence as a yes.

"Thank you".

She set her dog back down on the ground and turned to Aasim.

"Let's get out of here before the walkers catch up with us," she said.

Aasim smiled and held out his hand for her to shake, which she did.

"Welcome to the group."

They set off in the same direction that Mitch had gone in earlier.

Carly Jo didn't know what to expect from this new group.

She had learned from experience that the living were just as bad, if not beyond worse, than the dead. As a result, she avoided people altogether.

But with the weather getting colder, it was becoming harder and harder every day for her to find food for herself and her unborn child.

Maybe this group won't be too bad. Maybe she could finally have a place that she, and her baby, could call home.

 **And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of The Broken Girl. As I said before, feel free to give me tips and pointers concerning my writing, because I will definitely need them, but constructive criticism, please. Also, tell me what y'all think of Carly Jo. Do you love her as much as I do? Do you hate her? Any of the above, let me know. I hope you're all having a lovely day, and Happy early Thanksgiving!**

 **This is Aspie signing off.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, y'all!**

 **I'm back with another chapter of The Broken Girl. I apologize, again, if the first chapter wasn't of the best quality, but like I said, I'm just trying to get the story out of my head. All in all, though, I am proud of how the first chapter turned out, considering the fact that I'm new. Anyway, back to your scheduled programming!**

 **Chapter 2:**

Carly Jo zipped up her hoodie as a cold breeze blew past, making her shiver.

" _I swear, it gets colder out here every day,"_ she thought as her teeth began to chatter.

 _"I don't know if we'd of lasted another day in these woods, as cold as it's getting."_

She ventured a glance at her saviors.

She, Lady, and Aasim had finally caught up with Mitch, but a silence had fallen over the trio upon their reunion.

The boys were refusing to speak to each other after their argument, their differing opinions on the matter clear in their body language.

Carly Jo kept quiet out of fear, not wanting to be the cause of another diatribe between the two.

She didn't know what to make of the pair of them.

Aasim seemed like a nice guy, but she still couldn't bring herself to trust him yet.

However, Carly Jo was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, as he had shown her kindness where others would have left her and her unborn child for dead.

Mitch, on the other hand, was a different story.

He appeared to be very hotheaded and confrontational, which made CJ downright afraid of him.

He reminded her all too well of…...

Someone she'd rather forget.

She dropped her gaze to the ground, becoming lost in her own thoughts.

She kept replaying their first encounter over and over again in her head, unable to believe that she actually agreed to go with them in the first place.

Why did she do that, when she usually held strangers at arms length?

Maybe it was because she knew that the school could provide the protection she and her baby desperately needed. Maybe it was simply because she was desperate to get out of the cold.

Either way, it wouldn't be much longer until her bundle of joy finally arrived, and she didn't want to face the potentially deadly consequences of giving birth in the woods, all alone.

Aasim was right, this forest wasn't safe. Especially for a newborn.

She was suddenly snapped back to reality when she heard someone calling her name.

Carly Jo looked up to see that the boys had stopped walking.

Aasim turned to face her.

"Well, we're here," he said, pointing at something ahead of them.

Her eyes followed his finger, and her jaw dropped.

This place was unlike anything she'd ever expected! The large, decrepit building brought back images of the medieval castles in her favorite childhood storybooks. A high brick wall topped with barbed wire made it look almost impenetrable.

Aasim smiled and chuckled a bit at the astonished expression on Carly Jo's face before getting serious again. "You ready for this?"

Carly Jo could feel the butterflies rising in her stomach.

What if these kids weren't at all like Aasim said they would be?

What if they treated her, not with warmth and kindness, but with distrust and suspicion, as Mitch had done?

Maybe they'd see her and the baby as too much of a burden and cast her back out into the harsh, unforgiving wilderness?

Lady, sensing her master's nervousness, reared up and placed her front paws on Carly Jo's leg.

Carly Jo scratched her beloved pet behind the ear and took a deep breath.

She'd never know if she stayed out here, cowering like a frightened child.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

 **—Line break—**

Clementine sat on the steps of the admin building, watching the residents of Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth go about their business.

AJ and Tenn were drawing at their usual table. Louis was practicing his archery again. Willy was in the watchtower on his lookout shift. Ruby and Omar were nowhere to be found, as they were in the greenhouse, gathering vegetables for tonight's dinner.

Just then, her best friend, Violet, came and sat down next to her. They were silent for a while, just observing the other kids, until Violet spoke up.

"This is nice. Everyone doing their thing, not worrying about whether we're going to live or die. No raiders. We can finally be weightless."

Clementine nodded in agreement, keeping her eyes on AJ.

"Yeah, it is. We can finally have some peace."

Violet lifted her eyes to the sky. The sun was beginning to set rather quickly.

"It's getting late. Aasim and Mitch should, hopefully, be getting back soon."

As if on cue, Willy started yelling at them from the watchtower.

"Violet, they're back, and they've brought someone with them!"

Both girls shot up like rockets upon hearing this news.

"What?! Are you shitting me right now?!" Violet exclaimed.

Clem was too flabbergasted to even say anything.

They really brought back another survivor, when there were already enough mouths to feed in this school?

All she could think was that Mitch and Aasim had better have a good explanation for this.

Willy scrambled down the ladder as fast as he could to open the gate for the boys and the stranger they'd decided to bring home.

As they entered, Clementine could see a shock of strawberry blonde hair over Aasim's shoulder. The stranger was trying to hide behind him.

Violet crossed her arms over her chest disapprovingly.

"Guys, Willy said you brought someone back with you. Is that true? And if it is, you'd better have a good reason for it."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around to see what was going on.

Mitch, not wanting to be involved in the situation, went to hand their catch off to Omar, who had just returned from the greenhouse with Ruby.

Aasim nodded and said, "Yeah, it's true," before stepping aside to reveal a scared looking teenage girl, with a little dog standing, protectively, at her side.

She didn't seem to like being the center of attention, and began to play with a stray strand of curly hair that had come loose from the ponytail tied at the back of her head.

"And, yes, I have a good reason for bringing her here."

"Are you going to tell us what that reason is?" Clem asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"You see, Mitch and I found her in the woods, all by herself-"

"And I said we should just leave her there," Mitch interrupted.

"Shut up, Mitch! Anyway, I decided to bring her back because…well…she's in a uh…desperate situation."

"What do you mean, 'desperate situation' ?" Violet asked agitatedly, wanting Aasim to get to the point.

Before he could explain any further, however, the girl decided that she could speak for herself.

"What he means is, I'm pregnant."

She then proceeded to unzip the hoodie she was wearing, revealing her large, and very obvious, baby bump. Proof that she wasn't lying.

Clem was stunned.

She'd thought, at first, that Aasim was an idiot for taking in some random girl he'd found in the woods, but now she understood why he did it.

That kind of decision, where not just one but two lives hung in the balance, is not an easy one to make, especially in the world they live in now.

Aasim was just doing what he thought was right.

The memory of AJ's birth and the subsequent death of Rebecca was suddenly brought to the forefront of her mind. That would be this girl's fate as well if they didn't let her stay.

Clem couldn't bear the thought of another child losing their mother, and being left an orphan in a world full of walkers and not so kind strangers.

 _"I can't let that happen to someone else,"_ she thought _. "I won't have another Rebecca. Not again."_

Clementine cast a glance at Violet.

Her eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates, and her mouth hung open in shock. The other kids had similar expressions on their faces.

All except Mitch, who wore an angry scowl.

Then, recalling his previous comment regarding the girl, Clem glared angrily at him.

"Mitch, you wanted to leave her there?" she said through gritted teeth.

"What?" Mitch asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

"You find a pregnant girl in the woods, alone, who might even need help, and you wanna just leave her where you found her? What the hell is wrong with you?!" Violet shouted.

At this point, Mitch was getting dirty looks from everyone, with the exception of the younger kids, who seemed completely confused by all this nonsense.

"Well, can you blame me?" Mitch asked defensively. "After all the shit we've been through lately?"

"You're right, we can't blame you for being cautious," said Louis, "but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to help those who need it. And she clearly needs help."

"Screw that, I say we send her back where she came from!"

At this, Ruby rounded on Mitch.

"Have you lost your mind? If we send her back out into those woods, what do you think is going to happen when she goes into labor? I'll tell you what'll happen! Either she'll die, the baby will die, or worse, both of them. I am not about to let that happen."

"Me neither," Clem chimed in. "AJ's mom died giving birth to him. I'm not going to let that happen to another woman."

As Mitch and Ruby's argument intensified, with a few others putting in their two sense, the sound of frantic barking drew Clementine's attention back to the girl.

The dog now stood directly in front of it's owner, barking at Mitch, hackles raised.

The girl had her hands over her ears, and looked like she was going to have a panic attack.

Clem nudged Violet and jerked her head in the girl's direction.

"I think all the arguing is stressing her out," she whispered.

Violet looked over at the girl and was instantly reminded of Brody.

"I'll take her inside and put her in Brody's old room," Violet said sympathetically. "So she's got somewhere to stay until Mitch cools his shit. She looks like she's about to explode."

Violet decended the steps and slowly approached the girl.

Aasim saw this and rushed to try to stop her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, she doesn't like to be touch-"

But he was too late.

When Violet touched the girl's arm to get her attention, she panicked and squirmed away, crying out, "No! No! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry, I know it's my fault! Please don't hurt me!"

Violet removed her hand and took a step back. "Whoa! Calm down, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

When she looked up and realized that the person talking to her was female, the girl relaxed a bit, taking her hands off of her ears.

Violet noticed this sudden change, and attempted to calm her by making small talk.

"I'm going to take you inside so you can get away from all the bullshit going on right now. My name's Violet, what's yours?"

There was a long silence before the girl mumbled out, "C-C-Carly Jo, and thank you. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

Carly Jo then snapped her fingers and called for her dog. "Lady, come."

The dog immediately stopped barking and ran to her master.

With her loyal companion at her side once again, Carly Jo followed Violet into a side building and down a long hallway to a door.

She turned the knob and pushed the door open, allowing Carly Jo to step inside.

It was a simple dorm room with a closet, desk and chair, two sets of bunk beds on either side, and a dresser beneath the window.

Carly Jo stood in the center of the room, just taking it all in. This was way better than her little tent in the woods.

"You get settled in. I'll come back and check on you when everyone's got their shit together again."

And with that, Violet left the room, closing the door behind her.

Carly Jo shrugged off her military style, Steve Madden backpack and leaned it against the dresser. She'd unpack it later.

She sat down on one of the bottom bunks and rested her head on the ladder, exhaling sharply.

What had she been so nervous about?

These kids didn't seem that bad.

Except one.

Mitch seemed to have a problem with her from the moment they met.

Ever since she showed up, he'd done nothing but say awful things about her and her situation.

He'd even gone as far as suggesting that they send her back to the woods!

What was his problem with her?

Why was he insisting that they throw her back out into the wilderness like she was garbage?

What if they did decide to send her back?

Carly Jo shook her head. _"Don't worry about it,"_ she told herself. " _Everything's going to be alright. Relax. Don't stress yourself, think of the baby."_

Banishing these negative thoughts from her mind, she decided to pass the time by playing with Lady.

 **-Line break-**

What seemed like hours later, there was a knock at the door. Lady sprung from the bed like a slingshot and ran to it, barking madly.

"Lady, stop it, hush," Carly Jo scolded as she pushed herself up from the bed. She walked over and shooed the dog away with her foot before opening the door.

It was Violet, and she was accompanied by a girl wearing a denim jacket and a baseball cap, a girl CJ didn't know.

"Sorry about that," she said as they entered, "Lady's not very stranger friendly."

She placed her hands on her hips and glared playfully at the dog, who was now hiding under the bed, looking guilty.

"Girlfriend, you are making a lousy first impression."

The girls chuckled at her quip.

"It's okay. She's cute though," said the girl with the ball cap.

"Yeah, when she wants to be," CJ huffed. "Sometimes she can be a real pain in the ass."

"Anyway," Violet broke in, "they've all calmed down now, and it's pretty much been decided that you're here to stay."

Carly Jo stared blankly at her, stunned. "Really? I can stay here? But what about that guy, Mitch?"

"Don't worry about him," Violet said reassuringly. "I mean, yeah, he's pissed, but there's nothing he can do about it now. We all voted fairly-"

"Y'all actually voted on whether or not I got to stay?" Carly Jo asked incredulously, sitting back down on her new bed.

"Only because Mitch wanted us to," said the girl with the ball cap. "It was unanimous, 8-2. And, yes, Mitch wasn't happy, but he'll get over it. He has no choice but to try and get over it, because you cannot go back out there by yourself, especially with a baby on the way. I'm Clementine, by the way," she added.

"Carly Jo. Pleasure to meet you, Clementine."

"You to. So, how far along are you?" Clementine asked, gesturing to CJ's stomach.

"Six months," replied Carly Jo, placing a hand on her swollen abdomen. "Ain't got much longer to go. These past few months have gone by faster than I expected. Now I just can't wait to see her."

"'Her'?" Violet questioned.

"I just have a very strong feeling that it's a girl," said Carly Jo, shrugging. "Mothers intuition, I guess."

"Cool. Well, I'm gonna get out of here, dinner should be ready soon. You can come on down whenever you're ready, Carly Jo."

"Okay, and I just wanna say that I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I know you were only trying to console me, and I just…flipped out on you. I'm sorry."

Violet gave her a look of sympathy. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Everyone gets scared sometimes."

Carly Jo nodded slowly as Violet left the room once again.

She turned back to Clementine. "Think all the talk about babies and motherhood was making her uncomfortable?" she asked, trying to hide a snicker.

"Probably," said Clem, giggling herself. "Vi's not a big fan of little kids, but she's fine around AJ, though."

"Who is AJ, if you don't mind me asking?"

Her face took on a very somber expression. "AJ is a little boy I've been taking care of for the last five years."

"You said that his mother died when he was born?" said Carly Jo, wondering if she should really be asking Clementine these kinds of questions.

She didn't want to go upsetting someone she barely knew. Again.

"Not long after, yeah," Clementine replied. "To cut a long story short, she lost too much blood after the birth, and it's been just me and him ever since."

They were silent for a time before Carly Jo spoke up, feeling the need to apologize for her behavior again.

"I really am sorry for falling to pieces back there," she said, "I'm not proud of it."

"It's okay," Clem assured her. "You heard Violet, we all get a little scared every once in a while."

"I know. I just, don't like confrontation, and people like Mitch bring back…painful memories."

Clementine could see that the subject greatly upset her, and didn't pry for details.

Carly Jo would talk about it when she was ready.

"Need some more alone time?" Clem asked.

Carly Jo nodded mutely.

"Alright. Take all the time you need."

And with that, Clementine also left the room.

There was a scraping of nails on the floor as Lady crawled out of her hiding place and jumped back up onto the bed, resting her head on her owner's knee.

Carly Jo stroked her dog absentmindedly, taking solace in the quiet that followed Clementine's departure.

While she was grateful to the kids for allowing her to stay, she refused to let her guard down. After all, she didn't know any of them, and Mitch scared the absolute crap out of her.

But maybe, just maybe, she had found someone, if not two people, that she could trust.

 **And that's a rap! I'm sorry if this chapter was a little bit too long, but there were a lot of details that I was trying to squeeze in. Please do let me know if I'm writing any of the other kids wrong, as this is all foreign to me. I apologize if I made Mitch seem like a monster, but I like to think that his behavior is out of fear, especially after all the shit they have been through with the raiders and such. Anyway, I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, and I wish you all a happy holidays.**

 **This is Aspie signing off.**


	3. Chapter 3

Five minutes had passed since Clementine left, and Carly Jo remained on her bed, as still as a statue, petting her dog, seemingly in a daze.

Today had been a long, crazy, and very exhausting day. So much had happened. She had done something that was well outside of her comfort zone.

Who'd have thought that a simple, ordinary day of foraging for food and trying to survive in the woods would have ended in her becoming a part of a community?

 _"A community where I'm already causing trouble,"_ she thought ruefully.

CJ placed a hand on her abdomen and began to draw small circles.

"What have we gotten ourselves into, kiddo?" she said with a heavy sigh. The baby kicked in response.

Carly Jo smiled and giggled softly.

She loved it when she felt the baby move.

It gave her the feeling that she wasn't as alone as she often felt. That she still had something to live for.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when her stomach growled loudly.

It had been a long time since she'd had a decent meal, and she was eating for two, after all.

Besides, the stress of the day had worked up her appetite.

Carly Jo looked over at her furry companion.

"What do you think, girl?" she said, scratching the dog behind the ears.

"'Bout time we head down to dinner? I'm starving, and I'm sure you are, to."

Lady jumped off of the bed with a _thumb,_ walked to the door, and looked back, waiting for her owner to follow.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Carly Jo climbed down from the bed, opened the door, and the two of them made thier way down to the courtyard together.

 **-Line break-**

Carly Jo fiddled nervously with the ring on her right hand as she stepped out into the courtyard, Lady at her side, as always.

The kids were all sitting at the picnic tables across from the dorm building she had just exited, talking and laughing amongst themselves.

She could see Clementine and Violet seated at a table on the right hand side with three other kids.

At another table a short distance from them sat Mitch and Aasim, along with two younger boys.

Carly Jo quickly averted her gaze before Mitch could see her staring.

She had already made up her mind to avoid him like the plague. She didn't want to go pissing him off again if she could help it.

She returned her attention back to the previous table.

Clementine was having an animated conversation with a boy sitting on her left, who sported a leather trench coat and dreadlocks.

Next to him sat another, much younger, boy who was wearing a Disco Broccoli t-shirt.

Carly Jo came to the conclusion that this must be AJ.

Violet was seated across from them, as well as a girl with red hair.

CJ immediately recognized her as the girl who'd come to her defense when Mitch insisted that they throw her out.

What was her name again? Ruby?

She made a mental note to thank her later.

For now, though, she couldn't be around the others. She needed to be alone. Needed time to process this insane turn her life had taken.

As she scanned the area for an empty table, a male voice beside her made her jump.

"Excuse me?"

Lady, once again, went into a barking frenzy.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Carly Jo tried, frantically, to shush her dog before turning to see a boy wearing a dark blue jacket standing in front of her, holding a large bowl of what appeared to be some kind of soup in his hands.

"You didn't come to dinner right away, so I took the liberty of saving a bowl for you. My name is Omar, I'm kind of like the chef around here."

"I'm Carly Jo," she replied, taking the bowl into her hands gratefully. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome. I hope you enjoy it."

CJ nodded to him politely and instantly made a beeline for a vacant table a good distance from the others, Lady at her heels.

Upon reaching it, she set her bowl down and managed to squeeze herself into the bench.

Carly Jo immediately started to dig in. This was amazing! She had to admit, though she barely knew him, Omar was a great cook.

Lady sat herself down beside her master and started whining.

"You little beggar," Carly Jo said with a chuckle. "I'll save some for you, don't worry."

She shooed the dog away and continued eating her dinner.

She could get used to the warm meals, strong walls, a roof over her head at night, and people who actually gave a damn about her safety and the safety of her unborn child.

Maybe taking up Aasim's offer hadn't been such a bad idea after all. Maybe she could make a home here.

 **-Line break-**

Clementine watched Carly Jo for several minutes as the teenage mother-to-be sat down at the first empty table she could find and started eating her dinner.

The dog was at her feet, begging.

Carly Jo laughed and said something to the mutt, then went back to her food.

While Clem was glad that she'd finally come out of her room and gotten something to eat, she couldn't stand the sight of the poor girl sitting there alone.

Carly Jo shouldn't feel the need to isolate herself from the group because of all the stupid shit Mitch had said.

Finally, Clementine couldn't take it anymore, and elbowed her boyfriend in the arm.

"What's up?" Louis asked, his face lined with concern.

Clem pointed at Carly Jo.

"I think we should go sit with her."

Louis' face took on a very somber expression.

"Are you sure? I mean, she just got here. Isn't that pushing it?"

"But she shouldn't be by herself," Clem argued. "Someone has to at least try to make her feel welcome. Mitch did a pretty shitty job of that."

"I agree with Clem on this one. I say let's do it."

Violet was already out of her seat, her dinner in hand.

"I second that," said Ruby, following suit.

"Me too!" AJ piped up.

He had been hounding Clem with a barrage of questions about the stranger in their midst all throughout dinner.

She'd tried to answer his inquiries as best she could, but given her own limited knowledge of the girl, Clementine could only tell AJ so much.

What better way to satisfy his curiosity than to get answers straight from the horse's mouth?

"Okay, I see your point," said Louis, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.

"She shouldn't be alone. Let's go sit with her, then. Welcome her into the fold. Besides, I'd like to get to know the newcomer a little better."

"Now, don't you go getting any ideas, mister," Clem teased.

"No need to worry, darlin'. You know I only have eyes for you."

"Are you two done?" Violet asked, looking disgusted.

With that little moment over, the five of them made their way to Carly Jo's table.

Clem was the one to make the first move.

"Hey, Carly Jo."

Carly Jo turned to face them, and was startled by the sudden presence of so many people.

Her eyes had that 'deer-caught-in-headlights' look, and she seemed ready to grab her dog and bolt for the nearest exit at any second.

The best thing to do in this moment was to use a gentle approach.

"We saw you sitting here by yourself, and that's not cool. Do you mind if we sit with you?"

Carly Jo thought deeply about her decision.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

They all just stood there, waiting with bated breath for her to answer.

Finally, after several minutes, she slowly shook her head.

"No, I don't mind. Go ahead," she mumbled. "I guess I have been getting a bit lonely over here."

"We figured," said Clem, taking a seat beside her.

"Hi!"

AJ had sat down on Carly Jo's left side.

"I'm AJ."

Her expression softened at the sight of the child. He reminded her of her little cousins.

"Hi there. You're a friendly little fella, aren't you? I'm Carly Jo."

"Carly Jo, huh? That's an interesting name," said Louis, who had sat down across from her, along with Ruby and Violet.

"You can call me CJ," she offered, "everyone does. Just don't use the nickname too much."

"Why not?" Violet asked.

"I guess I'm just one of those people who prefers to be called by their name," CJ explained. "I've always been like that, ever since I was little. I don't mind CJ, but it's not my name. Call me by the name my mother gave me, I always say."

Violet chuckled. "You're kinda funny. Not like Louis, though, you actually make people laugh."

"Hey! I resent that comment," Louis shot back, swatting her on the shoulder.

Carly Jo started laughing at the exchange in spite of herself.

"I could get used to the camaraderie you guys have going on here," she said. "It's been a long time since I've had friends-"

"Is this your dog?"

Lady was at AJ's feet, once again begging for food.

"Yes, she's my dog, and her name's Lady."

Carly Jo gave the hungry animal a stern look.

"Now, I told you that I'd save you some. There's no need for you to be begging off these people, you little mooch. Get on, now. Shoo!"

"Come on! Can I give her just a little bit?" AJ pleaded.

CJ was about to say 'no', but all it took was just one look at AJ's puppy eyes, and she caved.

"Okay, but only a little bit," she consented.

AJ smiled excitedly, scooped a piece of meat out of his stew and fed it to Lady, who wolfed it down ravenously.

Once it was gone, she turned her attention to AJ again, begging for more food.

"I'm sorry, Lady. I can't give you anymore," he said with a look of pity on his face. "CJ said you could only have a little bit."

Carly Jo sighed heavily.

"I guess I can't blame her," she replied sadly. "Neither of us have had a proper meal in a long time."

"Were you always alone? Before Mitch and Aasim found you?" AJ asked, curiosity shining brightly in his eyes.

This simple question seemed to have a profound affect on her mood.

CJ was quiet for a long time before she finally spoke.

"No, not always. I had people, but they're gone now."

"What happened to them? Why are you alone now? Why does Mitch scare you so much?"

Carly Jo's expression suddenly became very stoney.

She dropped her spoon into her bowl, sending small drops of stew flying everywhere, and shifted her gaze away from AJ.

Clementine was quick to decide that that was enough questioning for one day.

"Okay, AJ, I think she's had enough. Why don't you go sit with Tenn and Willy?"

With a reluctant, "Okay," AJ picked up his bowl and went off to sit with his friends.

"I'm sorry about that," Clem said. "He didn't mean-"

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize," Carly Jo replied in a firm, yet gentle voice. "I know he didn't mean anything by it. He's a child, and as a child, it's in his nature to be curious. Heck, I'm pretty sure the rest of y'all have your fair share of questions about me."

She then turned her attention to Ruby.

"Thanks for standing up for me. You didn't have to do that."

"No need to thank me, suger," said Ruby, offering the girl a sweet smile. "I couldn't just stand by and listen to Mitch say all those terrible things about you. Especially with you being in the family way. Too much stress isn't good for you in your condition. Besides, that dumbass doesn't know a single thing about you. None of us do, if I'm being honest, but that's no excuse for anyone to gang up on you like that."

Carly Jo smiled softly in return. "Really, though, thank you. That was very kind of you."

She set her spoon aside. "Well, I've had my fill. Lady, come here!"

The dog darted over at her master's call.

"Lady, sit," CJ commanded.

Lady sat obediently, staring expectantly up at the bowl in her owner's hands.

"Now, stay," Carly Jo ordered, placing the bowl in front of the hungry canine.

"Go on. Go at it."

Lady wasted no time, and tore into the soup as if it were her last meal. Ruby pushed her own bowl away.

"Well, after everything that's happened today, I'm exhausted. I'll say goodnight now."

"Goodnight," CJ replied.

Ruby stood from the table and made her way toward the dorms.

"Alright, now that we have all eaten, it's time for something very important," said Louis, pulling a deck of cards from his coat and shuffling them.

Carly Jo immediately perked up; she loved card games.

"What are we playing?" she asked.

"War," Louis answered.

"I've never heard of that game before," Carly Jo said.

"It's pretty simple: everyone is given a stack of cards, flips them over, and whoever gets the highest card wins and gets to ask you a question," Louis explained.

Carly Jo tensed a little at the thought of them asking her questions, but she reminded herself that she was a stranger to them, and if she was going to be living here now, she might as well provide them the opportunity to get to know her.

And she would get to know them a little bit, to.

"What happens if I win?" CJ asked.

"You get to ask us a question," Clementine piped up beside her. "They did the same thing to me when I showed up."

"Okay. Maybe this will be fun," said Carly Jo. "Let's do it."

The cards were dealt and the game began. Louis was the first to win, with the ten of clubs.

"So, you don't seem like you're from around here. Where are you from, originally?"

"Ohio," Carly Jo replied. "But I lived in Florida for about a year before the world went to shit."

"Wow, you're a long way from home," Louis joked.

"That depends on which state you're referring to," she joked back.

The cards were flipped again, and this time Violet was the winner.

"You told AJ earlier that you used to have people. Who were they?"

"For a long time, it was just me, my mother, and my younger brother, Cameron," CJ said, a slight somberness in her tone. "Just the three of us. A tight knit family unit. I had grandparents to, but they didn't last very long."

Once again, the cards were drawn, and this time Carly Jo came out on top with the Queen of Hearts.

"Well, would you look at that, I won."

"Indeed, you did," said Louis. "Ask away, my friend."

Carly Jo tapped her chin in contemplation.

There were many questions that she wanted to ask. So much she wanted to know.

Finally, she settled on a question that had been on her mind since she got here.

"Who's in charge around here?"

"Clem is," Violet answered. "She took over after our old leader died about a month ago."

A silence fell upon the table at this pronouncement.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you bring it up," Carly Jo said, seeing their troubled faces.

"It's okay," Violet reassured her softly. "It's just hard to talk about still."

They all flipped their cards again. Clementine won this time.

"About Lady. Where did she come from?"

Carly Jo was thankful for the change in subject. She chuckled.

"Oh, that's one of my favorite stories to tell. Well, my brother and I had just returned to our camp from a scavenging trip. Mama was making dinner, and we were bored out of our brains. We asked her if we could go for a walk, because we loved to explore the woods in our free time. She agreed to it, but told us not to wonder so far away that she couldn't hear us if something bad happened. While we were walking around, laughing, and just generally being kids, I heard this weird whining noise. Cameron and I followed it, and that's when we found Lady, lying at the base of a tree with an injured leg."

At that moment Lady, having finished her bowl of stew, jumped up to take the seat previously occupied by AJ, gazing lovingly up at her master.

CJ scratched her beloved pet behind the ear as she continued her tale.

"Now, I'm the biggest animal lover you have ever met in your life, so it broke my heart to see her in such bad shape. I knew I had to do something, so without hesitation, I picked her up and we hightailed it back to camp as fast as we could. As we got closer, Cameron yelled for Mama, saying that we had found a dog in the woods and that it was hurt. She took one look at Lady then instructed me to take her into the tent so she could examine her. It turned out that one of her front legs was broken, and she needed to rest for a few weeks so it could heal. I offered to look after her since I was the one who found her, and during that time, we bonded. Once she recovered, she wouldn't leave my side, and she pretty much became my dog after that. I decided to call her Lady because she had this prissy, dainty kind of personality and I think it suits her."

"Wow, no wonder she's so damn protective of you," Violet said, amazed. "You saved her life."

"Yeah, you could say that," CJ replied with a shrug, "but I don't think of it like that. She needed someone to help her, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

The cards were flipped once again; Louis won.

"So, how did you and your folks end up here?"

CJ paused and took a deep breath before telling her next story.

"Cameron and I were eight and nine at the time. We had just gotten out of school, and we were sitting around waiting for our mother to come home from work. Suddenly, she came bursting through the door in a panic, saying that dead people were roaming the streets and instructed us to pack everything we could and be ready to leave. We all ran around the house like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off, grabbing food, water, medicine, anything that might be useful and piling it all in the car. We sped out of our neighborhood and straight to my grandparents house to pick them up. But by the time we got there, it was too late. They were gone."

Clementine reached out and placed a comforting hand on the older girl's shoulder, and to her surprise, Carly Jo didn't shrug her off.

"We gathered everything we could from their house, got back in the car, and drove off without looking back. We didn't know where we were going or where we would end up, but Mama wanted us the heck out of Florida, and she figured that if we were in a more rural area, there would be less walkers. We drove for what felt like forever, only stopping when we needed to and never staying in one place for very long. Then one day, our car broke down just as we crossed the West Virginia state line. It had happened several times before, so we thought that we could just fix it and be on our way. That wasn't the case this time. I don't know what exactly the problem was because I don't know how cars work, but what I do know was that hunk of junk was not fixable. We emptied what was left of our supplies from the car and set up shop in the nearby woods. And here I am, eight years later."

"How did you guys manage to survive in the forest for that long?" Clem asked.

"Mama used to take us kids on camping trips all the time when we lived in Ohio," CJ explained, "so we're both pretty capable of taking care of ourselves in the wilderness. Although, l think Cameron was a little bit more nature savvy than I am."

Again, the teens flipped their cards. CJ won again.

"So, who was your old leader and what happened to him?"

"His name was Marlon, and he was my best friend. He got shot in the head. The whole situation was a big mess." Louis replied shortly.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. There was a lot of messed up shit going on that we didn't know about."

The cards were flipped one final time. Violet had the highest card.

"How did you end up alone in the forest? What happened to your family?"

Carly Jo looked as if she was going to cry. She took another deep breath to steady herself.

"I was about three months pregnant when it happened. A group of bandits came out of nowhere and held the three of us at gun point, demanding all of the food we had. Mama refused, of course, but they were unrelenting. She turned to me and my brother and told us to go into the tent while she handled the situation. We knew what that really meant. We gathered as much supplies as we could fit into our backpacks, and prepared to run if push came to shove. We heard a commotion outside and went to see what was going on. I'll never forget what I saw when I stepped out of that tent. One of those bastards had his gun aimed at my mother's head and was threatening to kill her if she didn't give them our food. She ordered Cameron and I to get out of there, but I resisted. I said that I wasn't leaving her behind. She insisted that we go. She told us to stick together, that she loved us, and told me to, 'take care of that baby.' And then...Bang. She was gone."

CJ wiped away the tears flowing down her cheeks, sniffled, then continued.

"I just…froze as I watched her body fall to the ground. In that moment, it felt like everything was going in slow motion. Like my whole world had just stopped. My mother, my best friend, had just died right in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. Cameron pulled at my arm, yelling for me to run. I snapped out of it, grabbed Lady, and we ran. Ran like our lives depended on it. After a while, I could no longer hear his footsteps beside me anymore, but I couldn't look back to see if he was still with me. I had to keep running. I ran until I couldn't run anymore, and when I looked over my shoulder, my little brother was gone. I never saw him again. I lived in the woods by myself for three months, surviving off of roots, berries, and whatever small game I could catch, until the boys found me."

"Damn, that's- wow, that's tough," Violet said, at a loss for words. Louis sniffled quietly beside her, his happy, goofy demeanor gone. Clementine patted CJ's shoulder comfortingly, furiously blinking back tears.

Carly Jo dried her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie.

"You're telling me. Needless to say, life has put me through the ringer. Yet I'm still standing, that must mean something. Well, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. See y'all in the morning. Lady, come."

Lady hopped down from the bench and followed CJ to the dorm building.

Upon returning to her room, CJ sat down on her bed, grabbed her backpack, pulled out her hairbrush, removed the hair tie from her hair and began to brush her long, tangled curls.

Talking about Mama's death and Cameron's disappearance never got easier.

Her mother had been her best friend, and witnessing her sudden death had changed CJ.

It opened her eyes to how far gone the world had become since the apocalypse began, and the monstrous lengths people were willing to go to in order to ensure their own survival.

It had also taught her that not a single human in this world was to be trusted anymore, and the only person she could rely on now for survival was herself.

And Cameron…

He was her better half.

The yin to her yang.

No one understood her like he did, and she could always talk to him about anything. No one could ever compare to her brother.

Sometimes she'd lay awake at night, wondering whether or not he was alive or dead.

If he was alive, where was he now?

Was he still in that god forsaken forest, possibly searching for her?

Would she ever see her beloved brother again?

After one last stroke, she set the brush down on the dresser, laid down on her side, and fell into a deep sleep with Lady curled up beside her.


End file.
